Ryder Reviews (Prompts)
by KeJae
Summary: This is the collection of prompts from the main story "Ryders versus The Antagonist," as well as where any prompts from the additional story "Ryder Records (Excerpts)" will be stored. Disclaimers and credits are the same as on the main story.
1. Chapter 1

**Hospital Reunions**

* * *

Quinis - Ohh... does the hospital part where Nathan finds out about his real family and his real family finds out what really happened to him feature in the excerpts?

This prompt is set between "Ryder versus The Antagonist" chapters 1 and 2.

(I currently plan to post the excerpts and completed prompts in the order of occurrence based on the layout of "Ryders versus The Antagonist.")

* * *

Moriah Camden:

After being separated from my family for so long, it was a surprise when my nephew gave us the strangest call the other day. He said that Nate was alive and that he had arranged for a DNA test to prove it. The test was positive that he was my little Nate, all grown up.

Passing the phone to my husband, I simply sat down where I stood and thought through the implications of what that meant. My baby wasn't dead! For years I could have been struggling to tell the difference between my own twins. I could have been watching two little boys play games and heard two sets of laughter filling the home. There wouldn't have been that look of sadness and longing in Neal's eyes as he watched his cousins play and laugh with their twins and siblings. My husband would have had two boys to teach instead of teaching Neal while wishing that Nate was there to challenge him. There were so many things that would have been different if he had been here, where he belonged.

As my mind got past the knowledge that my boy was alive, I found myself filled with questions. Was he okay, did he know about us, what had his life been like, what happened to separate him from us, and all of those questions that any concerned mother would wonder under the circumstances.

Seeking my husband, I realized that he was still on the phone with Nick and I couldn't wait to get a chance to ask some more questions of my own.

Noticing the look on my face through his shock, Nathan passed me the phone and gave me the chance to ask some of my questions while he took some time to absorb the information.

The answers that I received hurt. Nate had been tortured nearly to death after being confused for someone else in an operation (likely his brother). He was unconscious and wouldn't be able to know about us for a while yet, but he was aware that something had happened to put him with a family that wasn't his own. Nick assured me that his theory was a switch at birth for a doctor to avoid investigations into his actions and that I could ask Nate the rest of my questions once he was well enough to handle the information.

Now as I stand pacing the waiting room, it is so hard not to be able to be there for him.

The doctors agree that the shock of waking up to a stranger claiming to be his mother would be too much for him at the moment.

So, while I wait, I continue to alternate between pacing the floor and sitting while watching what occurs around me.

One son is simply on the other side of glass and surrounded by machines. I watch as the nurses come and go, the doctors make visits, Nick keeps us up to date, and the machines show steady signs of life that are reassuring in their own ways.

My other son continues to pace the floor as well, but with a more agitated air. I can tell that he is feeling guilty for something that he couldn't have helped. Yes, he is the agent that Nate was confused for and the reason that the villains hurt him, but it wasn't his fault. Neal had no idea that his brother was alive and therefore had no idea that they needed to be taking precautions to avoid being confused for each other in the field. At the end of each of his rounds, he stops and stares at his brother for a few moments. I think he is still adjusting to the knowledge that his brother isn't dead after all and elated that he will get the chance to do all of those twins games that he missed out on growing up…

Nathan on the other hand, is feeling a mixture of anger at the doctor and guilt towards himself. As the father of Nate, he feels that it was his responsibility to look closer into details when his perfectly healthy son was declared dead. I feel the same, but we had looked into the circumstances at the time and the team hadn't found anything to state any particular wrong action on the part of our doctor… no one thought to check into the other doctors.

* * *

Nathan Camden:

We had the first contact from our family the other day. It had been years since my wife's family had reached out to us for fear of endangering the children if we drew attention to us and risked the Antagonist finding us again.

I found my wife standing with the phone clutched in her white fingers and a shocked expression on her face. My first fear was that something had happened to Neal. When she passed me the phone and sat on the floor, that fear intensified.

Shaking with nerves, I accepted the phone only to be surprised at who spoke on the other end. Instead of the FBI supervisor that I was expecting, he identified himself as being my nephew Nicholas Neal. My fear for Neal was relieved, but then it switched to wondering what was going on that would cause the family to reach out to us again after so long.

My curiosity was answered soon enough, and it wasn't all good news. It turned out that the call was concerning my son, but the one that we thought was dead. I was shocked to learn that Nate was alive with a DNA test to prove it.

All these years, if only we had looked deeper, searched harder, insisted on another investigation…. Anything that could have brought our son to us then, instead of having to wait eighteen years to discover that we missed out on so much lost time. For a moment, his words took a back seat behind the previous news that Nate was alive and severely injured.

When I looked back to see my wife standing with a look that said she was now ready to ask a series of questions, I passed her the phone back so that I could take some time to collect my thoughts.

Time became a blur after that as we collected enough things to last for an extended stay and rushed to rejoin our family. We stayed with Nick's parents and spent a lot of time catching up with their children while we waited for the chance to get to know our son.

The visits to the hospital were filled with pacing the halls, simply standing and watching, or sitting and waiting. Needless to say, it was difficult to be at the hospital, but impossible to stay away.

* * *

Neal Thomas Camden:

It started as a routine FBI investigation and ended up changing my life forever.

I was sitting at my desk working on reports when I received the first call that informed me that a DEA agent has been nearly killed after being confused for an FBI agent involved with our current investigation. When I asked who he had been mixed up with, I was surprised to find that he had been confused for me.

My mind roamed back to the day that my parents had told me that I had a twin brother, a twin that had died the day we were born for no known reason. He had been healthy, and then he was dead. It hurt me as my mind thought… what if this agent was my twin brother still alive after all? The thought was quickly shoved aside as my brother was dead and anything else was simply wishful thinking that hurt. Still, the thought had entered my head and an element of hope had entered my heart that was so hard to deal with and yet impossible to get rid of.

When I didn't get another call about the subject, I thought that the situation had been resolved and the agent had simply had a general similarity of dark hair and blue eyes. Then I got a visit that I didn't expect and that cause my heart to soar.

Nick was led into my office by my supervisor and informed me that he had news of the agent that had been confused for me.

"Neal, I don't want to get you excited to drop your hopes but you need to know this. He is severely injured and not completely out of the woods yet, but he is alive. I found Nate and it was another newborn that he was switched with the day you were born. Before you ask if I am sure, he is a mirror image of you and I had a DNA test taken to confirm before I called your parents. Since you were here and already familiar with the other agent part, I felt that it would be better if I showed up and told you myself."

It was a good thing that I was already sitting down as the sight of my cousin and the information about my twin was too much to remain standing. Providing the information on the hospital, it turned out that my brother, the Nicholas household, and I weren't all that far apart, despite all of the separations that had occurred.

My uncle was waiting in another part of my office (my twelve year old cousin might be a doctor but he wasn't travelling alone). He agreed to give me a ride to the hospital and we set off.

That first time that I saw my brother had me falling straight down with my uncle and cousin catching me. They helped me over to a chair where I could watch him the machines that told me Nate was still alive. He looked awful as he was deathly pale and covered with injuries. The machines had a steady rhythm to them that told me was okay for now, but it would be sometime before he would be recovered enough for us to tell him the truth.

Talking to my cousin and the agents who had worked with my brother gave me a good idea of what to expect, but I still really wanted to meet him for myself.

Then my parents joined me. The waiting game became a full family event and the first of many reunions to come.

* * *

Nathan Daniel Camden:

It was like a dream come true… in a twisted sense.

I had grown up in an environment where I was the ugly duckling who didn't fit in with my parents and wondered what was wrong with me. Now, I realized that I was the swan chick that was placed in the wrong nest and raised amongst the ducks. Not to say that the Bennetts are ducks while the Camdens are swans, but the childhood story is a good way to describe how I am feeling.

For a while now, I have been wondering who I was, what my family was like, did they know that I was missing, and so many other questions that I was unsure if I would ever receive all of the answers.

Then, I got a blessing in disguise when I was mistaken for my brother and nearly tortured to death.

The situation turned to a blessing in disguise when my cousin turned out to be my doctor by coincidence. Nick was able to recognize the family features as he worked on me and after I was settled into a room he went to work trying to figure the situation out.

Digging through the old hospital records he found an anomaly that showed an old description of a newborn baby changing a bit too quickly to be natural. With the new idea in his head that maybe I was switched with someone else, he started digging into that boys files. Comparing my files with the files of Neal Bennett, he found the data matched and that I had in fact been switched with him, according to the files.

With solid proof that there was a likely switch, Nick was able to arrange for a legal DNA check to make certain that I was in fact Nathan Daniel Camden. When that came back as positive it was time to start the legal river of efforts to right the wrong.

When I woke up, Nick went through the steps of making sure that I was okay. After a while in the hospital, I recovered enough to handle the news that he had to deliver, the news that my identity had been discovered and confirmed while I slept.

One morning Nick walked into my room and told me that we needed to talk about why he had switched to consulting on my case instead of being my primary physician. At my surprise, he said that he was my cousin so he was unable to be my primary physician without breaking the hospital's rules.

Stuttering in shock I asked "C-cousin?"

Approaching the topic with direct but caring means, he answered. "Yes, and it has been confirmed by DNA. There are a lot of things in this file that may be shocking to you, but I have spent a lot of time researching and verifying it to be able to tell you who you are and a viable approximation as to what happened.

As he settled down in a seat next to me, I simply stared at him with a mixture of curiosity and incredulity.

"To start with, my name is Nicholas Neal Ryder. You are my fist cousin on my mother's side. Our family is predominantly involved in government work and we have a lot of enemies. Several years ago those enemies started hurting the children of the family and caused us to separate and hide under new identities.

Keeping that in mind, I want to go into the details of who you are and how I know that before I give you the file.

I was initially your physician who worked on you when you came in. Your features are recognizable as being a Camden and when I asked your fellow agents your identity was a blank spot. After you were settled into your room, I went to work going back into the hospital records for you and the boy you grew up as. Looking at the details, it showed that Bennett was born ill while you were born healthy. Based on the fact that you were declared dead, I would assume that Bennett died and his doctored feared a search into his records for the possibility of malpractice. In order to avoid the issue, it is likely that he switched you for Bennett. The records show your weights and various details being logged and when your measurements lined up accurately between the two identities while keeping your measurements in one identity didn't match, I had proof of a likely switch. Following the line of evidence, a DNA test was done to test you against me, as I am the handiest relative. It was positive that you were my family member which left the next issue to be which one.

To explain that last statement, I have to go into who you are. Your mother is Moriah and your father is Nathan Camden. The part that is going to be especially surprising is that you have a younger brother… an identical twin named Neal Thomas. You are the older of two brothers and your name is Nathan Daniel Camden.

Even though I haven't seen your brother in several years, you look like an older version of him. I would assume that he is the FBI agent that you were mixed up with on your operation. He has been notified and is waiting with your parents. When you have had some time to come to terms with all of this, they are only a call away.

Also, I should probably warn you… twins run in the family and I have three identical brothers. You'll only have to worry about two pulling your leg though as the youngest was taken when we were toddlers."

I simply stared at him for a few moments while he sat by quietly watching me absorb the information with a subtle excitement. As my mind wrapped around the information, I requested to see the file in order to see pictures and run through the information again with my own eyes.

Reading the data, it quickly became clear that my real family was honorable with a history of doing the right thing no matter the cost. Also, it was a relief to find that academics, athletics, and artistic abilities were normal, which meant that I wouldn't be an odd duck out with traits that didn't fit in with those around me.

The more the details settled in and the more I knew that I could trust this family I had lost, the more my smile grew and the tension left. I was home… and I couldn't wait to get to know the family that had been taken from me for so long!

* * *

In conclusion.

The doctor who had hidden the death and switched out the newborns faced his investigation after an eighteen year delay. It turned out that he had done nothing wrong in the case of the care of Neal Bennett, but he feared that an investigation would uncover his illicit activities that he had committed. A decade plus sentence awaited him behind bars with no chance of parole.

There was a clear conscience for the Camden doctor who had been questioning what had caused the mystery for eighteen years. He had become somewhat paranoid about the health and care of the babies that he delivered with the hope of never having to tell the parents such news of a healthy baby dying, again. Despite having retired, he was delighted when two identical twins took advantage of some down time to stop by and tell him what had transpired.

As expected the bad guys that had confused the twins were caught and faced charges for their crimes with the new additions of kidnapping and attempted murder of a Federal Agent.

The agents who had worked with the twins were amused and congratulatory for the twins who were united after so long apart and such a close call with Nate's near death. For Nate's coworkers, they were relieved to see him discovering his identity, family, and receiving closure about his past. Neal's coworkers were happy to know that his brother turned out to be alive after all. (Nate hadn't been a free flowing topic of conversation with Neal due to his feelings about missing out on opportunities with his brother. In fact, there were coworkers who didn't even know that he had had a twin).

All in all it was a happy ending for those involved and justice long overdue for the culprit who caused the separations.


	2. Chapter 2

**Out of the Wood Works**

* * *

I had thought about writing this, but per Quinis' request I decided to make it a prompt and get it written. This is from the perspectives of the lost ones in the order of Peter, El, and Will.

* * *

My family has been helping me deal with everything and slowly acclimating me to the life that I was taken from mixed with the life I ended up leading. Here and there family members have been popping up and introducing themselves. Of course Joe, Chuck, Bryce, Casey, and the rest who I had already met were the first ones to show themselves for who they really are. After that Nichole (El's sister), our parents, and other relatives started showing up alone or in small groups to slowly reintroduce us to the family. Some of the family we met had been around when we were taken while others were new having been married or born during our absence. As each member spends time getting to know us there are a few points that occur. They tell us who they are, their relations to us, some stories from before or since we were taken, and some of their part in how everything connects before they get us talking about our lives (in my case as much as I can remember or understand). It is a long slow process, but a little here and a little there my past is coming back to me and others are helping me to make sense of it. Still, I can't help but feel that enough time has passed and I just want to get my history back so that I can enjoy my present and go on into my future.

I had no idea that my oddest introduction would be a lunch that was going to be so informative about Shield, or that he would turn out to be related to me… somehow.

When lunch time came around, Shield came up to my office and asked me if I was ready to go.

Looking up from my files, "Where?" I was confused as we were doing paperwork for the day so there was no particular destination that I could think of. Then my stomach rumbled to remind about the time of day. A quick glance at my watch confirmed and in essence answered my following question. "Lunch?"

He simply grinned at me, "I have a restaurant in mind. Grab your jacket and let's go, my treat." And with that he was turning and heading down the stairs while I hurried to put my current folder away and grab my jacket.

As we rode the elevator down, I watched him to see if he was going to give anything away as to why he suddenly decided to take me out to lunch.

"Someone would like to meet you, without meeting you, so I'm arranging it without telling you who the person is" was his ambiguous answer before he turned and gave me a look full of humor, mischief, and with a hint of nervousness.

I wondered what he could be nervous about, and apparently that question was written all over my face because he answered it.

Shifting nervously, "I'm also going to reveal something of myself in the process Peter. That is why I am also nervous."

Nodding, I wondered what he could be revealing about himself. Was he the person who wanted to meet me without meeting me? And if he was, how was that even possible? I suspected that he might be Nick, but no matter how sure I was, there was always doubt in the back of my mind that maybe I was looking too hard for him. With a shake of my head, I decided that I was only confusing myself so I might as well wait and see what happened with this lunch 'not meeting.'

Shield seemed to understand that I had decided to wait and see what happened. He simply directed me that I was going to be driving before telling me the restaurant and its location.

In response to the look that I threw in his direction, "I said that I was treating for lunch, I didn't say that I was driving to it." He grinned at me and I simply rolled my eyes like I would have done with Neal. Thinking of Neal brought a pang of guilt. I still had no idea what had happened to him or if he was ever coming back.

Driving to the restaurant, my mood had changed and there was a sad tinge to it as I was missing my partner.

Shield seemed to read me again and responded to my change in mood. "First, Neal is just fine. Second, he is still around but he is playing a role closer to himself, so I get to take his place for a little while. There are a lot of secrets as to who he actually is, but that is another of those things that will be revealed to you later, in the meanwhile we are here so let's focus on lunch."

I couldn't help but relax at his words. It seemed like he knew Neal and if he said that he was okay and working towards telling me more of who he is… who was I to complain?

As we walked inside, there was a waitress waiting to set us with a table. While she directed us where to go, I couldn't help but notice here appearance. She was tall and slender with long, dark, brown hair, but more remarkable was her eyes. They were a startling shade of blue somewhere between Neal's baby blue and Shield's aquatic blue. It was like she was the feminine mixture of the two and I found myself watching her for more similarities.

Over the course of the meal I found that when she smiled she had that megawatt grin, as she spoke she was very charming, and as she handled our meal she proved herself to be very intelligent and capable. For some reason, I pictured her as the female version of what Neal would be like if he was running a con where he had to perform as a waiter. Then, when she left the check for Shield, she also handed me an origami elephant that stood. I looked up at Shield, who ignored me while he paid the bill. Before I could ask him the questions on my mind, he simply got up and walked away leaving me hurrying to catch up… again.

Back in the car, he stopped me from starting the ignition, so I waited for him to talk.

"She is my sister, and I am sure that you noticed how she resembles both myself and Neal. That is because I am related to Neal… as well as you. When Jo said that we would be popping out of the woodworks, he meant that we would be coming out all over the place as well as some rather unexpected places." And with that, he simple sat back in his seat and left me to my thoughts.

After a few minutes I asked, "So Neal is around, he is just playing himself instead of his role as Neal Caffrey?" I wanted confirmation on my understanding.

Grinning, Shield answered. "Yes and no. First, he is another of those people who is a lot closer than you think. Second, he is playing a role closer to himself, not himself… yet."

Nodding, I accepted that he was another Nick who was right in front of me. There was the hint of a thought, was he Nick? Before the idea passed from my head as the unknown and I proceeded to ask my second question. "And you're related to me as well as Neal… that would make you both Ryders?"

Again, he smiled and answered. "Yes and no. I am a Ryder, but he isn't necessarily and that is as far as I am going to go into what his real name is." Then he had a look that said he meant it so I gave up and drove back to the office.

* * *

I knew that Jo had warned me, but it was still unexpected when my family started popping out everywhere.

For me, the most surprising encounter was when Zach decided to get me off of the street and into a side alley to introduce himself. Did he simply walk up to me and ask to speak to me in private… no! Instead, that little turkey cousin of mine, decided to steal my purse and run into the alley with it!

Was it wise of me to pursue the criminal… probably not. But really, I thought that it was Neal due to the figure, dark hair, and the manner in which he stole my purse with a playful "come and get me" kind of laugh.

When I turned into the alley, I felt the apprehension grow as I realized that the person wasn't Neal after all. The man standing in front of me had lighter hair with a lot more curls, and his eyes… they were an aquatic blue with tinges of green which made them beautiful.

As I stood staring at him, I couldn't move, couldn't make a noise… couldn't do anything but stare. It was as if he seemed familiar… like I knew him from a long time ago…

"Hello Elizabeth, didn't Peter teach you that it was a bad idea to chase criminals into back alleys… even if they are simply your cousin trying to say hi after a very long time…" He was grinning at me.

I felt the answering smile slip onto my face, but I was still looking calculatingly at him, trying to discern who he was. With his reference to him being a cousin, I was trying to place which one he could possibly be.

"You don't remember me." Sigh. "I was little more than a toddler when you were taken so I presume that I have changed a lot over the years."

Okay, so he was one of the younger cousins… the youngest cousins were the quads when I was taken… "You're one of the quads aren't you?"

With a flourish and a bow he confirmed my guess. "Yes… now can you guess which one?" He winked mischievously and smiled at me.

Hmm, he has a playful attitude, and he is relaxed with me… there is a youthful quality to him... "Zach?"

He gave another flourish and bow combo. "How did you guess?"

Unsure of the answer, I responded anyway. "I don't know… I have a vague memory of you being the more relaxed, playful, generally the younger of the quads… and you just seemed to fit those qualities."

Chuckling, he was obviously amused by my vague reasoning, regardless of how accurate it was. "So it was more intuitive than thought out? It might have been more fun if you had to struggle a little bit… it would have meant that our switching games might go off like they used too. But if you can figure out which one I am so easily on the first meeting, our games might not be as fun as they were when we were all children."

My reproving look only made him smile more.

"Hey, I'm not complaining… stop looking at me like I am." He gave me a reproving look of his own before continuing. "Seriously. I'm glad that you remember me enough to intuitively recognize me after I have literally grown up in your absence. Granted, you didn't recognize me all the other times that I have been around… but you did the first time that I intended you to recognize me." He couldn't help but throw in the mischievous jab to keep me from feeling bad.

It didn't work. I couldn't help but feel sad that the lovable little guy that I used to play with grew up right in front of me without me realizing it… the more I thought about it the more the tears welled up in my eyes. After a few moments they brimmed over and ran down my face.

With a sad expression, Zach moved forward and put both of his hands on either side of my face. As he stared at me for a moment, he used his thumbs to wipe my tears away. Then he shifted his hands to my back as he pulled me towards him for a hug. While he stood holding me in the alley, he told me that it was okay. "It wasn't your fault that you were taken. You were simply the target in a manipulative endeavor to keep our family from causing trouble for their future goals. The same reason why Peter and Will were taken. No one blames you, we simply don't beat around the bush about the facts."

A few minutes of crying in my cousins arms and I was able to gain control of my emotions. As I calmed down, he let me step back, handed me a kerchief to blow my nose, and wipe away my tears. When I was finished with it, I offered it back to him. He put on a goofy face as he gingerly took it between his fingers like it was the most disgusting thing on the planet. Then he kept up the act as he carefully put it in his pocket with a look that said he was going to have to go home and take a shower as quickly as possible. Laughing at him, I couldn't help but lightly smack his arm with, "Zach! Seriously, it's not like it's going to kill you. If it bugs you that much give it back and I'll wash it first!"

He responded with a look that said I was asking too much. In a whiny voice, with a disgusted tone and expression, he responded. "But that would mean that I would have to touch it in order to dig it back out again!"

I was laughing even harder now and he couldn't help his own smile from braking his charade. The more I laughed, the more he continued to smile until he joined me. Then my eyes caught onto my purse dangling from his arm like a misplaced fashion statement and I exploded. In no time I was laughing so hard that tears were once again falling down my face and I was about to sit down in the middle of the alley… or I was going to fall down in a breathless mess. Noticing how I was about to go down, Zach sat my purse down and gallantly used his jacket to give me a place to sit that would be clean. While I sat laughing until I struggled to breath, he simply stood by leaning against the wall and laughed right along with me.

Eventually, I calmed down again, but there was this feeling like this was going to be one of those private jokes that Zach and I would be laughing at for a long time. Still, despite how enjoyable the time had been, I did have a meeting, and I was going to be late if I didn't get going.

Zach saw that I seemed to be calming down with a destination to get too. "You have a client to meet?"

Taking a deep breath, I made sure I had the oxygen to answer. "As unexpected and enjoyable as this has been, yes, I do have a meeting. And if I don't get going, I'm going to be late."

Extending his hand, Zach helped me up and handed me my purse. With a quick movement, he had his jacket picked up and draped over his arm. "My car is only a few blocks away, if it is okay with you I'll give you a lift. That would help make up for the time I took, and it would also give you a few minutes to get calmed down and ready to meet your client."

Smiling, I enjoyed how chivalrous and gallant Zach was. "You don't have to do all that Zach, and you didn't take my time. I give it with pleasure."

With a laugh and a humored glint in his eye. "Thank you for your time. And yes, I am not going to allow you to be late on my account regardless of how much 'trouble' you perceive it to be. It is not trouble and it would be my pleasure to spend a few more minutes in your company being in your service."

I couldn't help give him a look that said he was going overboard with the pleasantries even though I knew that he was playfully expressing his actual feelings. "You're welcome, and thank you, I would be glad to accept your service of giving me a lift."

Continuing with the gallantry, Zach extended an arm and walked me out of the alley and back to his car. While we walked, we continued to talk and work on catching up.

When we got to his car, I was surprised to see a large pretty blue Hummer. It seemed oddly fitting for him, it was great for adventure and had a playful twist to it.

By the time he dropped me off for my meeting, I was relaxed, had my cousin's contact information, and I was looking forward to more family coming back into the picture.

* * *

My brother had warned me… and I was still surprised when someone tapped my shoulder in line at a coffee shop. When I turned around, I was greeted by the sight of three of my cousins standing behind me.

Elli stood grinning, while Devon smiled behind her with Clara strapped to him. "Hi Will, it's been a long time since we left. I'm your cousin Ellie and to introduce you, this is my husband Devon and our daughter Clara. We are in the city for the party that Peter and Elizabeth are going to be throwing later in the week and when I recognized you standing in front of me, I couldn't resist getting your attention."

She was giddy to be personally getting in touch with the family! I couldn't help but smile and shift my position in order to give her a hug. I was laughing as I responded. "Hi, I guess Jo was right when he warned that the family was going to be popping out of the oddest places… though I have to admit that randomly meeting in a coffee shop isn't the most unusual place to encounter others." Then I turned to meet Devon and shook his hand due to Clara. "It's nice to meet you. I hope my brothers haven't messed with you too much, they haven't given me a break yet! I think they are eager to make up for lost time."

Devon and Elli both laughed in response.

Ellie explained what they had done so far, "We actually haven't met them yet. When we got to mom's place no one was there, so we decided to see some of the city." Devon looked like he was ready to accept the challenge. "I look forward to trying to see if I can tell the difference… it sounds like an awesome game to grow up playing."

"I bet it was, I just regret that life took me in a direction that I missed out on that. Still, I have gotten to be involved in the fun a few times. Just a heads up, Nick has a background at being a master of disguise so he likes to make the game even harder if he can… so if it seems too easy at first, he is just warming up!"

They both had amused looks that told me that they still felt they could be up to the challenge.

With a shrug of my shoulders, "Don't say that I didn't warn you," and I grinned mischievously at them. Then it was my turn to place my order so our conversation dropped for a few minutes.

Once we had place our orders, we moved to the other side of the counter to pay before joining those loitering about waiting for their orders to be filled. After our drinks and midmorning snacks were collected, we moved to get a table in the corner booth. It was a spacious table and it provided ample room for them to set Clara and her things while we enjoyed our food.

While we sat there, we continued to talk and catch up.

Eventually, I needed to get back to the office and they decided to continue with their tour of the city. We parted after exchanging contact information and with the promise that they would come over to my place for dinner with whomever they were hanging out with. It was my turn to host a family get together after all.


End file.
